Ab Igne Ignem Capere
by ilovehappyendings
Summary: Hermione is thrown back into the 1940s, where Grindelwald is the greatest threat. Or is it the young man who will one day take his place? Hermione wonders how she is supposed to bring Tom Riddle down, when he is beginning to see her as his equal...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there :D **

**This isn't the first fanfiction that I have written, but it's the first one that I plan to go all the way with. I started writing fanfics a few years back, but I just despised my writing style. I still do, but I love the Tom/Hermione pairing so much that I couldn't resist having my own little input in their world! **

**I know my writing isn't near perfection, there's a reason I dropped English as soon as I was able to. But I really hope that at least some of you see the story in the way that I have visualised it. I have plot lines, I just can't seem to put them into words :p**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is J.K Rowlings world, not mine. I only wish that I inhabited it...**

**The first chapter is more of an intro, there's not really any Tom/Hermione interaction. It's a build-up I guess. Enjoy!**

The girl's bathroom exploded.

The deafening bang it produced resounded through the abandoned room, causing the thick stone walls to vibrate strongly, but they otherwise remained undamaged. The room gradually reverted to silence, as if the previous few seconds never occurred, though this was quickly broken again by a chilling scream. The voice, belonging to a female, could not go unheard by the Slytherin prefect patrolling the corridor that night.

'I'm going to _rip_ their mindless heads off!' Tom Marvolo Riddle scowled darkly as he stormed down the corridor towards the source of the noise, wand out and equipped with a mental list of a few not-so-innocent curses to intimidate the rule breakers that interrupted his peace. Forcing the door open with a sharp flick of his wand, the sixth-year glared daggers at the almost transparent figure that stood there silently.

"_Myrtle_." He snarled at the melodramatic ghost, whose vocal chords currently appeared to be failing her as she began to tremble in shock. He glanced around and frowned at the walls; every mirror had shattered into minuscule pieces. "May I know what has possessed you to-"

Riddle broke off mid-sentence as he followed the line of sight of the former Hogwarts student; his usually expressionless face contorted into one of alarm as they came to rest on the unpleasant sight before him.

A young woman- she couldn't have possibly been more than twenty years of age- lay broken on the cold marble floor; her limbs appeared to be twisted at awkward angles. Her thin face was of a deathly white colour and contrasted deeply with the scarlet red oozing out of her nose, ears and mouth. He approached the frail looking figure, allowing his perverse curiosity to get the better of him.

As he stood over her, the woman suddenly gasped, though she immediately began choking on the blood that had accumulated in her mouth. Her chest heaved as she painfully coughed the thick liquid out, before closing her eyes and falling into an unconscious state. Riddle noticed that her breathing was becoming increasingly shallow, and his thought process finally returned to a state of partial normality as he got onto his knees beside her, examining her deep wounds.

"Episkey" He uttered the basic healing spell to prevent more blood loss. Merlin knew she had already lost a galleon full.

Not knowing what else to do- one did not deem learning advanced healing spells a priority when one was trying to achieve immortality- he levitated her from the floor, and exited the bathroom, her crippled body floating behind him.

Finally reaching the Hospital wing he flung the doors open, and with a flick of his wand the unfamiliar girl landed softly on the nearest bed. His noisy entry into the school's infirmary awoke the Madam Rosary, the rather affectionate school Matron who was known for fussing over her patients as if they were her very own children. The middle-aged woman rushed out of her office, which was connected to the Hospital wing.

"Mister Riddle you are going to awake the entire castle… oh Merlin!" Madam Rosary gasped in horror as her now wide eyes fell upon the latest addition to the infirmary. She scurried towards the potions cabinet, rummaging through it as she demanded to know about her patient's situation.

Tom tugged at his raven black hair in an unusual display of nervousness yet he managed to speak in a composed, earnest tone. "I wouldn't know, Madam Rosary. I was patrolling along the second floor and heard an explosion. I entered the girls' bathroom and found her in the very state she is in now, lying unconscious on the floor. That is all I can tell you."

The old woman simply nodded without any further questioning and proceeded to assess the girl's injuries, sweeping her wand over her body as she attempted to identify the curses that she had been subjected to. Tom inwardly relaxed when she appeared to believe his words; the possibility of an accusation being made against him had worried him immensely.

It was at that moment when Albus Dumbledore, the school's well-respected transfiguration professor, swept into the room, his velvet robes billowing behind him.

"I take it that it was you who discovered her, Tom?" Dumbledore asked, masking his suspicion skilfully, though Tom knew this particular wizard well enough to realise that he was at the beginnings of an interrogation.

"Mr Riddle is unaware of how the girl was harmed. He discovered her in a girls bathroom whilst on his prefect duties." Madam Rosary replied on Tom's behalf. The animosity between the prefect and the professor was definitely not unheard of, and feeling the increasing tension between the two of them she steered the conversation in another direction. "Neither of us were able to recognise her- very peculiar since the girl could pass for a sixth year."

"No, she does not seem to be a student at this school." Dumbledore commented as he studied the girl's face, which had now been cleared of her blood.

'A Hufflepuff could have figured that one out.' Tom thought irritably, wishing the man would disclose some real information to satisfy his mounting curiosity. For starters, what curses were used on her? He would certainly like to have a go at casting some of them…

Dumbledore spoke again after a short pause. "Which leaves us to wonder how she entered the school undetected." He sighed, "How is her health as of now, Amelia?"

Madam Rosary had cast at least a dozen spells all over the girl's body to close up her wounds more effectively, mend her broken ribs and several fractures.

"Her body is in a fairly stable condition now, thank goodness. There is one major problem though. Some of her wounds have been created by dark magic and are frequently reopening. Tom's interest suddenly shot up at the mention of the Dark Arts. She'll need the cure quickly, or they'll stop closing at all. Oh Albus, I simply cannot even begin to comprehend why someone would harm anyone to this extent, let alone a poor child! I haven't seen that many dark curses used on a full grown _man_."

"Indeed, I can only imagine half of what this young lady has been through. Unfortunately I feel that her injuries weren't the outcome of a random assault, but that there was more to it."

"What are you saying?"

Dumbledore turned to look at Riddle, giving him a tight smile. "Tom, would you mind fetching your potions professor? I shall have him brew a few potions. Our wing isn't sufficiently equipped to treat injuries inflicted by the Dark Arts. It is not expected for a school to have to deal with this area of magic on a regular basis."

Tom swore he saw an insinuating look in Dumbledore's light blue eyes. Ever since the Myrtle incident last year the blasted old coot had been onto his case. Oh yes, Tom could easily fool the rest of the population at Hogwarts into thinking that Hagrid's little pet spider killed Myrtle, and he, the school's saviour, brought the half-giant to justice. But convincing Albus Dumbledore had been another story. The wizard was too intelligent for his own good, and Tom had despised him for it.

Not wanting to arouse further suspicion from the only person he considered a threat, he did not question the professor's orders, and instead muttered a 'Yes, Sir', before hurrying to find his head of house.

Dumbledore watched Tom stroll out of the Hospital Wing and waved his hand to place a silencing charm over the room, then turned to face Madam Rosary.

"There have been curses used on this child that can only be cast by a handful of wizards. It appears to me that she has been involved in a battle of some sort."

"Merlin forbid, you don't think it was one of Grindelwald's followers, do you Albus?

Dumbledore's usually shining blue eyes now presented not even a hint of a twinkle in them.

"Perhaps it was one of them. But considering how advanced the curses that were used against her were I suspect it was more of a personal attack, possibly by someone who sought vengeance. I doubt Grindelwald's followers would have the time nor a sufficient reason for them to harm a mere teenager using such horrific methods."

"And if that is the case? What should we do with her? I have searched her body and clothing; there is absolutely nothing that gives us the slightest inkling about her. What if her attackers are still looking for her?"

"There is nothing we can do until she has awoken. If she does make a good recovery, I will question her in private and take action from there. But for now she will remain under our protection at Hogwarts,"

Neither of them knew that Hogwarts was the last place that would provide a safe haven for Hermione Granger.

**Please review! I don't think I'll see any point in continuing the story with no reviews, if I'm being honest. Okay so I might be a bit of a review whore... Constructive criticism is VERY welcome. That being said, a few nice comments wouldn't hurt either hehe :)**


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, a large part of me is greatly hoping that the people who subscribed to the story alert for my fanfic have forgotten about it completely because I haven't updated for months...and now I'm at a point where I am severely lacking the motivation to continue with it. I would like to apologise for those who were enjoying it; at the time I wrote the first chapter I had the whole story planned out and didn't imagine that I would get to this stage. Yep, woe is me, I am a complete failure. I really am truly sorry to all my readers, and trust me I would understand if you clicked the 'back' button the moment you read 'lacking motivation'. Anyway I decided to just put this chapter up, it's only halfway complete and it's an awful chapter and needs some serious editing but I feel like I might as well since I don't know if I'll ever get round to finishing it. Of course, there might be a day when I suddenly change my mind and think 'No, I am going to finish this!' But please don't have any expectations, at all. Lastly, thank you so much for the reviews- I recall myself grinning for days because your comments were absolutely lovely! You're too good to me, truly...

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><p>One week later, Hermione regained consciousness.<p>

Eyeing the dreary white-favoured appearance and the immaculately prepared beds, it didn't take her long to recognise the Hospital Wing in all its glory. Yet the room was not how one would expect it to be; her mind reeled with the notion with that something was not quite right. Why were the beds vacant? It was uncharacteristically quiet, and… was that lavender in the air? Where was the unmistakable scent of rotting human flesh, or the groans of the torture-subjected victims that she had become accustomed to ever since Voldemort had invaded Hogwarts? It was as if she was merely being treated for wizard's flu on a typical school day.

_School. _How she yearned for the past; she imagined herself seated in a classroom once again, scribbling away furiously with a worn-out quill and a fierce determination to note down every word that came out of the professor's mouth. It was difficult to accept that Hogwarts had changed for the worst, or that even her life was no longer something that could be taken for granted. Not that having Harry Potter for a best friend exactly warranted a normal life, but finding a home at Hogwarts and being surrounded by people who loved her, she couldn't have been happier.

The only theory she could come up with to explain the lingering silence was that whilst she had been unconscious, Voldemort had succeeded in capturing Harry, and Hogwarts had subsequently surrendered. But if that was the case, why was she still alive? Did he plan on having her tortured for information concerning the Order? She didn't exactly fancy a round of the cruciatus curse after what Dolohov just put her through. But it wasn't as if she would talk, and so she would simply take her Gryffindor stubbornness to the extreme and endure the pain.

Turning to her right, she held back a gasp at the sight of her wand lying innocently on the bedside table. _What is going on? _The Death Eaters knew from the battle at the Ministry about how adept she was at duelling; it would have been rather foolish to believe that she would not dare attack them, even if she were greatly outnumbered.

Hermione brushed her fingers over her vine-based wand fondly, as she acknowledged it as her only source of comfort, knowing that it was one thing providing her with that feeling of security as of now. She picked it up, and gripped it tightly.

The loud creak signifying an opening door brought her back into her war mode; she leaped out of the bed and readied herself into an offensive stance. However her body had not healed completely, and she cried out from the sharp pain she felt as her ribs protested against the rapid movement. It appeared that her injuries were a little more serious than she had anticipated. _Damn you Dolohov._

Falling onto her knees, she gritted her teeth as her eyes welled up from the pain. She kept her head up, silently waiting for whoever had entered to come into her view.

It could have been a death eater, or another war ally being brought in for medical attention. What she was not expecting however, was an old woman dressed in the school matron's uniform to greet her sight.

Said stranger was now rushing towards her.

"Oh, my poor dear! If I had known that you would be up and out of bed so soon-" The woman rambled on such a fast pace that Hermione struggled to concentrate on her words in her current condition.

As if she would be foolish enough to believe a word coming from her mouth anyway. This woman was acting under Voldemort's orders. Whether she was either a death eater in disguise or a victim of the imperius curse, Hermione didn't know. Regardless of which it was, the woman would undoubtedly switch to the offensive any second now. Hermione had to gain the upper hand, and so she pointed her wand at whom she though was an 'impersonator' of Madam Pomfrey.

"Don't move! Come any closer and I'll curse you!" Hermione spat.

The matron halted her movements, and held her hands up to Hermione as if to reassure her that she would not harm her. Hermione noted that she didn't have a wand on her, and hesitated to use her own. It then occurred to Hermione that the woman probably was under the imperius curse; she couldn't have been so idiotic as to face an enemy without a wand to defend herself with. In that case the woman didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of Hermione's wand. So Hermione raised her wand to immobilise her.

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><p>Tom Riddle sighed in frustration as his mind failed to solve- or at least come to an acceptable explanation- for the sudden appearance of a certain individual. However, he justified to himself that no valid conclusions could be made if he had little information to work on.<p>

She had plagued his thoughts since leaving the Hospital Wing a week ago. For a brief period, he wondered why a complete stranger, nonetheless a _girl_, would be granted his full attention, when not even his so-called Slytherin 'friends' were deemed worthy enough for it. But alas, the girl was a delightful enigma. A mind as intelligent as his became easily bored when it could be presented with few challenges, but now he had something else to actively work on besides his studies and gathering followers. He would investigate the girl's situation; which he expected would lead to him discovering a method for leaving and entering the grounds of Hogwarts undetected. He also had a strong feeling that this new 'project' of his would somehow aid him in his plans to rise to power.

The rest of the student population were currently dining in the Great Hall. Fortunately the Slytherins were used to Tom's absence and would not question it, they expected he'd be pouring over a book from the library's restricted section as usual. After all, being head boy at Hogwarts had numerous privileges- one of them being given complete access to this area of the library. And though he was technically allowed to take out _any_ book from the restricted section, he did not wish to raise suspicion- it wasn't exactly difficult to do when one mainly looked upon books with titles such as 'Irreversible potent curses' and 'The untold successes of Dark Wizards'

This time however, Tom's destination was not the library. More specifically, it was his fifth visit to the Hospital Wing that week. When he had not been advancing his knowledge of the dark arts, Tom had been concealing his true intent of charming Madam Rosary into revealing more about the girl by appearing as if he were actually concerned about the her well-being. Sadly, he had been told that the girl had not yet woken, and therefore they hadn't been able to even identify her as of yet.

"Don't move! Come any closer and I'll curse you!"

For the second time that week, Tom heard a female scream whilst he was taking a stroll along an empty corridor. Yet this time it was coming from the hospital wing situated just ahead of him.

Tom sprinted down the corridor, pulling out his faithful wand from the inner pocket of his robes. Whoever had screamed was obviously wielding a wand.

Unfortunately the doors to the hospital wing were shut, and knowing how loudly they would creak if opened, Tom knew he would not be able to enter unnoticed.

Deciding the risk was worth it, he pushed the doors open and pointed his wand at the figure he saw brandishing a wand. Which turned out to be the young woman he had discovered in the bathroom. She was leaning heavily against a bedpost clearly about to curse Madam Rosary, but the creaking doors had alerted her of his presence, and without hesitation she waved her wand in his direction.

Before Tom could react, his wand flew out of his hand and was skilfully caught by the young woman. Tom stared her down, furious_. _Who was this witch that dared to disarm _him_?

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><p>(There should be another separation line here but they won't let me put it in...)<p>

The doors to the Hospital Wing burst open, and Hermione's eyes darted to the tall, dark-haired young man who entered. Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed that unlike the old woman, he was equipped with a wand. Instinctively, she non-verbally cast 'expelliarmus' at him before he could properly assess the situation, and felt relieved as his wand left his hand and travelled towards her.

She winced in pain as she reached forward to seize the wand, and then grabbed hold of the bedpost as her vision blurred momentarily. Her body was still in a weakened state from Dolohov's attack, and a part of her wished that she had faked unconsciousness until she had made a decent recovery.

Once the room appeared have stopped spinning, she refocused her sight upon the young man who hadn't yet moved. What added to her confusion was that he was wearing the school robes and appeared to be around her age, yet his face was not familiar to her at all. His eyes blazed with anger, and she held her breath as she waited for him to speak.

Without warning he flicked his wrist and she gaped in horror as both wands flew out of her hand and landed on the floor in front of her, rolling under a bed that was nearer to the young man than to her.

She stared at him fearfully as a smirk appeared on his face. He began to approach her, walking ever so slowly with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, Hermione decided to make a run for it. She thought he'd expect her to go for the wands and would therefore move towards them to stop her, giving her the perfect opportunity to slip past him and reach the doors.

She sped towards him, and as she passed she quickly ducked to avoid his outstretched arm. However he managed to grasp her arm from behind, and pulled Hermione back to him. She kicked his shin with full force, causing him to relinquish his grip on her. He yelped and rubbed his shin in pain.

Hermione did not falter and ran straight out of the Hospital Wing and down a short corridor that led to the Entrance Hall.

"Miss! Please come back here! Stop her Tom!" She heard the woman shout.

Still running on pure adrenaline, Hermione looked behind her and saw the boy whom was apparently named Tom chasing after her, whilst the old woman stood by the doors seemingly waiting for the man to bring her back there.

She tried to pick up her speed seeing that the man, with his long legs, was definitely catching up to her, but Hermione's exhausted body refused to cooperate with her, and she knew she was slowing down.

'Almost there' she thought as the Entrance Hall came into view, ignoring how her legs felt as if they were going to buckle any moment now.

Before she could register what was happening, Hermione was knocked to the ground by a strong force from behind her. She landed facedown, and immediately rolled onto her back to defend herself. Two large hands grasped her wrists tightly as Tom appeared in her line of vision again; his knees pinning her legs down whilst he bent over her.

He brought his face to within such proximity of hers that their noses were less than an inch away from touching; his icy blue eyes glowered at her honey-coloured ones. Hermione continued struggling against his iron grip.

'Calm down.' He spoke so softly, yet the underlying threat was palpable from the coolness of his tone.

Unable to move any of her limbs from underneath him, Hermione did not regret what she did next. Lifting her upper body up, she bit into his shoulder hard, drawing blood.

Tom quickly rolled off her in shock. 'You little bitch.' He growled as he used a hand to apply some pressure to his wound.

'I am _terribly_ sorry,' she sneered sarcastically before she could stop herself. She started getting up.

'Petrificus totalas' Hermione felt a cold sensation travel down her spine as her whole body froze whilst she was still half bent over, and she started falling backwards without control over her body. Two arms wrapped around her waist before she could smack into the ground, and she was hoisted (rather roughly if she might add) onto Tom's left shoulder.

_Shit, shit, shit. You idiot! _Hermione wanted to cry. She shouldn't have presumed that as being of student age, he would be incapable of wandless magic beyond a simple 'expelliarmus' or 'alohomora'. Now she was in serious trouble.

'Well if you're going to make things difficult, can you blame me for not playing nicely hmm?' Hermione didn't need to see Tom's face to know that he was smirking. Incapable of movement and wandless, she could only stare at the floor in defeat and humiliation as he carried her towards the hospital wing.

Knots of anxiety built up in her stomach as they re-entered the Hospital Wing. How was she going to get out of this one? She heard the 'matron' sigh in relief at her capture. Still hanging on Tom's shoulder, she could only look as high as the old woman's knees. Therefore she hadn't a clue if the matron had any vials of some sort for Hermione to drink from in her hands, which would of course be problematic if that were the case.

'Ah well done Mr Riddle. Though it's a shame you had to return her in such a manner. Put her on the bed there, quickly. She has not been injured further, yes?'

'Of course Madam Rosary. I'm sorry that I had to petrify her in order to bring her to you, but please believe me when I say that there really was no other option.' He couldn't have sounded more apologetic to Hermione.

'Nonsense, Mr Riddle. She would have already left Hogwarts long ago had you not been around to stop her! Well I'm going to have to remove the spell now- oh my, is that blood on you Mr Riddle?' The woman asked disbelievingly.

'It's fine Madam, just a small wound. I can tend to it myself.' Hermione heard him reply. She couldn't have felt more awkward just lying there on the bed listening to their conversation, still frozen in a curled-up position.

'Mmm still I'd like to give it a little patching up after I've sorted this one out,' she said, indicating to Hermione. 'I take it she's going to try to make a quick getaway as soon as I remove the spell?'

'Would you like me to assist?' Tom offered.

'Thank you, Tom. As soon as your spell has been lifted and she is able to move, I want you to hold her down so I can bind her to the bed. On the count of three, Tom. One, two, three- Finite incantatum!'

Hermione tried to get out of the bed as soon as the stiffness in her limbs faded. Obviously Tom was prepared for her reaction; he grabbed her shoulders and forced her down again.

'Mmph!'

Hermione struggled rather futily as invisible ropes wrapped around her, attaching her from her waist downwards to the bed.


End file.
